


Not What A Friend Does

by RosenMeg



Category: Original Work
Genre: English Story, Ft an entirely unnecessary text conversation, Gen, I don't think there are any TWs, I might write more for these folks, I wrote this in Grade 7 please don't judge me too much, Lesbian Characters, Or maybe I just like not having to write descriptions, Taiwanese character, They have an entertaining text dynamic, anyway, but was fun to write, english project, that serves no purpose in the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosenMeg/pseuds/RosenMeg
Summary: Veria Long is a simple 12-year-old trying to get through Grade 8 without a huge disaster. So far, it has been pretty easy, but then her friend Sofia asks her to do her Social Studies project for her, and various moral dilemmas happen.





	Not What A Friend Does

**Author's Note:**

> An English project from a few years ago  
> Not my best but it's alright  
> I've written some more text conversation with these characters but I haven't looked at that in a while

The bell rang, signalling that if you were not in class already, you were late. Sofia Everton leaned over to Veria Long and asked, "Hey, do you think Mrs. O'Carrick really is retiring?"

Veria glanced at the teacher's desk. Since no one was seated there, she shrugged and replied, "I hope not! She may be super sarcastic, but she's one of the best teachers here."

"You _like_ her!?" Sofia demanded in surprise. "But she's so _strict_! And she assigns _so_ much homework."

Veria shrugged again. In truth, she liked Mrs. O'Carrick so much partly _because_ she was strict. In Grade 6, she'd had a teacher completely incapable of disciplining her class, and as a result, barely anyone had learned anything. But that had happened at Alan Turing Elementary, while Sofia had gone to Marie Curie. Now, of course, they were both in Grade 8 and both attended Rosalind Franklin Junior High, though they had met in Grade 7.

"She could be worse," she pointed out. "She could be Mrs. Stilthmiss."

Sofia winced. "Ouch. That's true."

Just then, Ms. Blythe walked into the room.

"Hello, everyone!" she announced, walking to the front of the room and waiting for quiet. The hubbub took forever to die down and Veria and one of her other friends, Emily Carsston, exchanged glances from across the room. As two of the quietest people in class when it came to talking out of turn, they had fallen into the habit of judging all the loud people.

"As you know," Ms. Blythe continued, "we've been studying explorers, and I think it's time for a project on them, don't you?"

And there went the silence. People started protesting loudly, and Veria and Emily managed an eye roll in perfect unison.

"Quiet! Quiet down, everyone." Ms. Blythe raised her hand. "I'm not done yet. Each one of you, no partner work, will have to write me an informative paper and make a Google Slides presentation on an explorer of your choice. This will be due in a week, to be handed in on Classroom."

"Wonderful," Sofia mumbled sarcastically. Veria nudged her.

"Could be worse," she whispered, repeating what she had said a few minutes ago.

"This will be for around 30% of your final grade, so make sure it's good!"

Outcries of shock and dismay burst out all around the room. Even Veria was surprised, though she didn't say anything, _HEM-HEM._

After class, as Veria took out her backpack, Sofia approached her. She seemed nervous.

"What's wrong?" Veria asked. Sofia bit her lip.

"Um, listen, V, I'm, like, _super_ busy with soccer this week, and I really don't have the time to do... Anything. So, I was wondering if, maybe, you could maybe do my project for me?"

Veria paused to consider, then nodded. "Sure! Just tell me which explorer you want me to do for you."

Sofia broke out into a grin. "Thanks, V. Jacques Cartier, please. I'll give you my password so you can hand it in yourself."

"We have a deal! I'm doing Samuel de Champlain for myself, and those two are the two I know the most about, so this'll be easy."

The two girls shook hands professionally, then ruined it by giggling.

**At the house of Veria Long, one day later**

Veria slammed a sheet of lined paper on her desk and started writing important points on Samuel de Champlain. He was French, had angered the Haudenosaunee people for... 150 years, right? Just as she was about to check online, she remembered Sofia and added another paper to her desk.

"Jacques Cartier..." she mused, tapping her lower lip with her pink feather pen, though pretty much the only reason she used it anymore was that she had gotten it for her birthday last year from Sofia. "He was also French... Right? I mean, he has a French name..."

She snatched her phone from her bed and turned it on, only to find it was low on power. Quickly, she searched her question and found out that he had _explored_ for France, which wasn't what she wanted to know, but she plugged her phone in and decided that was good enough for now.

"Anyway, back to Mr. Samuel... He allied himself with other Indigenous people, who were the enemies of the Haudenosaunee--"

"Veria!" Her mother yelled from down the stairs in the kitchen. "Get out of your room, you were supposed to empty the dishwasher!"

"Sorry!" she called down, descending.

"And it's supper time!"

"Okay, Mom!"

"And remember, early bedtime today, I'm still not sure if your cold has gone entirely..."

"I know, Mom."

She didn't get anything else done that night.

**At Rosalind Franklin Junior High, two days after the project was assigned**

"So, how's it going, friend of mine?" Sofia asked, slinging her arm around Veria's shoulder.

Veria tried to suppress a laugh. "Excuse me? Friend of mine?"

Sofia shrugged. "Actually, though, how are the projects going?"

Veria pursed her lips. "Could be going better, could be going worse."

"Very helpful, thank you," Sofia responded dryly.

**At the house of Veria Long, two days after the project was assigned**

" _Why_ do we have to go to Seya's dance recital?" Veria whined as she got into the car.

"I'm _right here,_ " her older sister replied.

"I've got _homework--_ "

"Finish it when you get home," Seya interrupted.

"UGH."

They got home late due to traffic, and all Veria managed to do was create the Google Slides

she would use for the presentation. She didn't even have time to title it.

**At Rosalind Franklin Junior High, three days after the project was assigned**

"Hey, where do you think Veria is?"

"I dunno, she hasn't been here all day..."

"Veria's sick at home."

_At least she'll be able to work on our projects..._

**At the house of Veria Long, three days after the project was assigned**

"Bàituō, Bàba, I've got to get this project done, it's due on Monday!"

"Long Wùn, what have Māma and I told you whenever you were sick?"

"I have to rest..."

"And what would you be doing if you were working on your project?"

"Not resting... Look, can I at least do _some_ work?"

"Maybe."

She finished half her research and finished three Slides.

**At Rosalind Franklin Junior High, four days after the project was assigned**

"Hey! Iri!" Veria called, waving her hand in the air.

Iri Tortan, one of her longest friends, turned her head and waited for Veria to catch up.

"Hi, Veria. Any reason why you're here, following me trying to get to my locker, before school starts, while yours isn't even on the same _floor_?" she asked with a smirk, pushing her dark braids out of her face.

"Very funny, Iri. You always did have an enlightening sense of humour."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what that word means..."

"Whatever. Anyway, you know how we had planned to go and watch sad movies in your basement and cry a lot?"

"Yes..."

"Well... I can't go. I'm sorry, but I've got homework, and--"

"It's fine; don't worry about it. We'll just reschedule."

Veria grinned. "Oh, good. I gotta get to class now. See ya!"

**In the classroom of Ms. Blythe, four days after the project was assigned**

"All right kids, now that you've had almost a week to work on your projects, we're not going to be doing them in class anymore, you have to finish them at home."

Veria looked into an imaginary camera like she was on The Office.

**At the house of Veria Long, five days after the project was assigned**

"Mèimei!" Veria's father called out.

Veria sighed and trudged downstairs.

"We're eating supper out today, hurry!" her mother added.

"I know," she replied, not going any faster.

They got home late again. All she did was complete her research and finish a quarter of each Google Slides.

**At the house of Veria Long, six days after the project was assigned**

Veria stared at her computer. They had gone out all morning and a decent bit into the afternoon. Now it was 5:00 and she would be called down for food in around an hour. She was completing the last bit of her Google Slides. She'd be finished before suppertime. And, DONE!

Her phone buzzed and she scooped it up, seeing a text from Clarabelle, one of her best friends, in a group chat.

 _Anyone finished the project? Bc I'm not even close and oh boi is Ms. Blythe gonna kill me if I'm the only one,_ it read.

 _I'm done,_ Veria responded. _Ha._

 _Oh, I'm not even close, don't worry,_ Iri said.

 _Really?_ Emily said, joining the conversation. _All I need to do is write my conclusion on my informative paper, and then I'm done._

Veria felt as if cold syrup was working its way into her intestines.

The informative paper. She had completely forgotten about it. She hadn't even started. What was she gonna do? It was 5:05, it would be suppertime soon and she would have to go to bed early again, she didn't have time to write two whole informative papers!

 _I could just abandon Sofia's, but she's my friend! I can't leave her to do the paper by herself, but I can't abandon mine, either. My parents would murder me with a chainsaw once they found out I didn't do it. Why did I forget? It's not even that hard to remember!_ Her breathing quickened.

 _Bzzzzzzzzt._ Huh? Oh, another text. She ignored it but picked the phone back up when five others followed it in rapid succession.

_Eminem: By the way, did I tell you guys how Jackson asked me to do his work for him?_

_Clarabob: Wait_

_Clarabob: Really??_

_Eminem: Yes!_

_Clarabob: Omg_

_Clarabob: Did you?_

_Eminem: No!_

_Eminem: Why would I??_

_Me: I mean, he's not a_ jerk...

_Eeree: ~Ooooooooooo~_

_Me: I'm a lesbian??????_

_Me: Remember???_

_Eeree: I take back my oooooo._

_Me: Actually tho Em why didn't you?_

_Eminem: Because? It's not responsible, for one_

_Eminem: Besides, Jackson_ is _nice enough, but he doesn't get good grades._

_Eminem: If I had said yes, he would have used me for easy As_

_Eminem: As without effort_

_Chocolatecheesecake: *cough* The hottest new band *Cough*_

_Eminem: Shut up, Lila._

_Chocolatecheesecake: Aww_

_Chocolatecheesecake: Mean_

_Chocolatecheesecake: Why do u hate me?_

_Eminem: Yur dumb_

_Chocolatecheesecake: omg_

_Clarabob: Don't worry! I WILL DEFEND YOU, FAIR MAIDEN_

_Chocolatecheesecake: MY HERO_

_Clarabob: *Stabs Emily*_

_Eminem: *defeats you using the power of math*_

_Clarabob: Pffft. Lame._

_Eeree: Clara why is your gecko peeing on me_

_Clarabob: Wait, really?_

_Eeree: Um, YES_

_Clarabob: Oh_

_Clarabob: Cheesey just does that sometimes_

_Eeree: Ew._

_Clarabob: Just go wash it, it's no big deal._

_Eeree: I should never have agreed to babysitting Cheesey while your uncle was over._

_Clarabob: It's not my fault he's allergic to geckos!_

_Eeree: Hmph._

Veria switched to her private texts with Emily.

_Me: So Em_

_Me: Suppose I, hypothetically, was asked by someone to do the project for them_

_Me: And suppose hypothetical me says yes_

_Me: Now suppose hypothetical me forgot about the informative paper and now must write two papers but is probably going to be called down for food in 50 minutes and must go to sleep early tonight_

_Me: What should hypothetical me do?_

_Eminem: omg_

_Eminem: u didn't_

_Me: ...Maybe?_

_Eminem: oMG_

_Me: You said that already._

_Eminem: Fine. Why r u doing it?_

_Me: She said she was busy_

_Eminem: Aight, bad excuse, dump hers._

_Me: U sure?_

_Eminem: Yes. Give her the research and Slides if you really wanna, but she was clearly taking advantage of you_

_Eminem: May I ask who it was?_

_Me: No one_

_Eminem: Is it another Sandra?_

_Me: NO_

_Eminem: Good, because we DID agree if another Sandra happened I would have the legal right to kill you._

_Me: I KNOW THAT IS WHY IT IS NOT ANOTHER SANDRA_

_Eminem: Aight chill_

_Eminem: Anyway that's what I think u should do_

_Eminem: And now I must leave because Iri, Lila, and Clara are arguing over pineapples on pizza and I must go change the topic to Shrek_

_Me: You're gonna what?_

_Eminem: Don't worry about it._

Veria blew out a breath and glanced at the time. It was 5:15. She had maybe forty five minutes.

Now, thinking about it, she realized that Emily had been correct. Sofia had never really had great grades, and though she might be busy with soccer, she definitely wouldn't be _that_ busy.

She stared at the pink feather pen on her desk and her stomach churned. A gift from a friend it was, but it was also a gift from a friend who had taken advantage of her. She slowly reached across the table and threw the pen in her garbage can, sighing.

She nearly threw her phone onto her bed in a sudden rush of dramatics, spun around to her computer, opened a Google Doc, and started typing like a madwoman.

**At Rosalind Franklin Junior High, seven days after the project was assigned**

"All right, class dismissed, except for Sofia. Sofia, I need to talk to you."

Sofia's eyebrows shot up. Veria swallowed nervously.

"That is all. See you tomorrow!"

Veria rushed to gather up her stuff, nearly tripping over her untied shoelace in her haste. She _had_ to get out of here before Sofia was done talking to the teacher.

Almost running to her locker but still trying not to make it look like she was hurrying, she put in the combination so fast it was unbelievable that she had put in the right one and that the locker opened.

She shoved her stuff inside in a panic, multitasking with her arms flying in a near blur.

"Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncomeon..." she muttered, heart thumping. Sofia could come out at any moment.

She may have chosen not to complete her friend's project, but that didn't mean she wanted to _discuss_ it with Sofia. Hopefully this whole thing would just never be mentioned again.

Slamming her locker shut and relocking the lock, she took off down the hall just as she heard, "All right, Sofia, just finish it by then!"

A squeak escaping her lips, she rounded a corner and ran out the door.

After a couple of meters, she slowed down, though her heart continued trying to leap out of her chest every time she saw another person on the sidewalk.

She walked another three blocks before she finally started to relax. She exhaled slowly.

"Hey!"

Oh no. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh no. That was Sofia. Veria had a brief moment of mental screaming.

"Veria! It's me, Sofia!"

Slowly, Veria turned around. Sofia didn't even look mad, just confused, probably because Veria had handed in the Google Slides under her name, so she was only missing half her project.

Veria was momentarily overwhelmed with guilt.

 _This is my_ friend, she thought, _and I told her I would do it but I didn't and she was relying on me and I basically lied to her..._

But then she remembered the words of Emily and strengthened her resolve.

"--Veria?" Sofia frowned. "Are you even listening to me?"

Veria started. "Sorry, what?"

 _Now_ Sofia looked mad. "I _said_ , why didn't you write the paper? I got an extension, but you said you would, and you _know_ I was busy with soccer!"  
  


"I know," Veria said, "but that doesn't make it okay to just shove it at me instead! If you're busy, you talk with the teacher or manage regardless. You don't just give the work to someone else!" Ohhhhhh, she sounded like _such_ an adult...

Sofia's face turned pink, but she didn't look embarrassed. She looked furious. "That doesn't change the fact that you lied to me!"

"There was _no_ way I could have finished both our projects! Things happened and..."

"So you chose to do yours instead, huh, wonderful job at being _selfish_! Things happened, did they? That's not even a good excuse!"

"Emily--"

"Emily? _She_ told you to do this? Of course. She's such a goody good girl, as soon as she knew you were doing mine, she decided to convince you otherwise."

"What? No!"

"Listen, Veria, you don't understand how it feels--"  
  


" _I_ don't understand? Listen, Sofia, you can't just take advantage of people like that! You could have easily done it on your own--"

"Not _easily--_ "

"FINE! Not easily, but you _could have_ done it."

Sofia hesitated.

"And that's why I didn't do it, Sofia, because it's not fair for you to use me like that."

"Well, it's not my fault you're so--"

" _Don't_ try to make this about me!" Veria said sharply. "You did it because of _your_ flaws, and you know it. You were lazy and took advantage of me. That's not what a friend does, Sofia. You can't do that anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I made plans with Emily to go out for bubble tea today and I need to go."

Sofia looked at the ground, biting her lip and blinking rapidly.

Veria took a step back, then turned and walked away. She screwed her eyes shut.

She was going to lose Sofia now, she knew. Going to lose her for sure. They'd been friends for almost two years, and _this_ was how it was all going to end? She remembered laughing with her as they watched TV, dishing themselves _way_ too much ice cream when Sofia's mom hadn't been looking, making fun of their ridiculous teachers together.

A sense of panic entered her, clawing at her throat and kicking at her stomach. She didn't _want_ Sofia to hate her! Which she was gonna do. She was gonna despise her. Most definitely absolutely. Tears entered her eyes, and her shoulders slumped. This couldn't, _could not_ be how this was going to end. No.

She turned around to say something, anything, so that Sofia knew she still wanted to be friends, and that this didn't mean that she hated her, it just meant that Veria wouldn't do her homework for her, but it was too late. The sidewalk was empty and Sofia was gone.


End file.
